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Baseline Insider : Season 2

Detroit's staff is worried about the mental toughness of its players after this last loss to The Clippers. "We really brokedown heading down the stretch and went cold from the field. It was the same story in the Loss to Indy. We started off horrendously but battled back to get within 2 and then let them push it back out, we've got to make some corrections or we will remain below .500. Every win is gonna count this year in the loaded eastern conference." Said Coach Frank Saturday after the game.

Scotty Brooks and Sam Pesti have cooled off on their Westbrook trade talk after the opening night debacle at the hands of JrRawlins 's Raptors. Still, all is not well in OKC as the poor play of the Thunder bench continues. James Harden also continues to struggle and there are rampant rumors in Thunder circles of his imminent departure...

There are rumors circulating around the rose quarter about Josh Smith being on the move. When asked about the trade rumors GM of the year BBJ stated he sees Josh Smith as a big part of the blazers success this season, but did say he always listens to offers that may make the blazers a better team. Josh Smith coming off his best 2 games of the season told us his focus is on basketball and not on reports that could be could not be true.

Minnesota's GM said he was happy with how the Wolves were playing this year, other than the awful game against Bondzai 's Magic. "It was their first game with Nash and Haslem, so they were excited at home, and we were just flat right out of the gate. It would have been a different story if we would have came out flat against the Wizards, but we didn't, and we are back on the right track." Minnesota needs to sure up their inside defense quick, before blowouts like the one against Orlando become a regularity.

Dallas' season has been underwhelming so far. Sitting 5-7 they need to get things going. Despite shooting 12/26 from behind the arc in two seperate games they managed to lose both of them. Dirk is still playing at an MVP level averaging 24 points per game. Their biggest problem has been rebounding. Almost no second chance points while giving up way to many. Spencer Hawes has been a bright spot averaging about 12 points a game. Hopefully his play will interest some buyers for him before the trade deadline. His 1 year deal would be great for a contender needing that extra scorer down low.

Detroit is rumored to be at odds with veteran Ben gordon. He has had a poor season so far and will most likely lose his starting position to Jason Richardson. Gm bucs is aggressively looking to move him even if it means taking less than market value.

GM Dru has not been pleased with the play of the team this year. He has made it known to other GM's that nobody on the roster is untouchable, in an effort to see what shakeup can occur. One change has already come, with Mike Conley and Maurice Speights being sent to Utah for Al Jefferson. "We think this is a good deal for Mike, who will get a chance to get back into a starting role, and for us as we are excited about the frontcourt rotation of Al with Zach and Marc."

After a flurry of deals that saw the Grizzlies trade 7 of their 15 players under contract, GM Dru met with the media - "We felt that after the debacle of last season that a change was needed. We were one of the highest payroll teams last year and finished with the 2nd worst record without any significant injuries. We had the highest payroll this year and started 2-4 with 3 losses by more than 15 points. I don't know what the issue was, but for whatever reason the guys just could not seem to gel together and succeed on the court. We feel that the changes made will allow 2 formerly underused members of the starting lineup, OJ and Marc, to flourish. They have been the most efficient players on the team early this season but were not getting enough touches as the 4th and 5th options in most sets. We are excited about the new additions, as we expect Josh Smith to step into the PF role and bring a defensive intensity we were missing. Al Jefferson will initially be our 6th man but will play significant minutes. Jamal and Vince will initially compete for the SF spot, and we think that youngsters Chris Jennings and Jeremy Evans will be contributors down the road."

After a tough 3-2 start, the Thunder have bounced back to expectations and now hold a 9-3 record. That includes a beatdown of the same Laker team that crushed us earlier in the season. Kevin Durant, while averaging fewer points this season is still effective and has upped his rebounding to over 7 a game. Serge Ibaka has been a revelation and a double-double machine these past 6 games, and now averages over 10 points and 8 boards a game, to go along with his 2 blocks per.

That said, there is still much conversation in the front office about possibly moving James Harden for a talented big man.

With Harden being a restricted FA, any team that gets him will have the right to match any other teams' offers in the offseason (i think...)

In an effort to shake things up lamar odom will be inserted into the starting power forward spot. It was expected that he would push tayshaun prince out of the starting spot but the two have shown great chemistry together and regularly assist each other.

The Raptors are closing in on the halfway point and we are fairly pleased with our progress... currently sitting at 17-9 we have been the victim of some tough losses against Philly and against the Lakers....i think all of the others are sim losses...... but we have some big wins... some of the biggest were against the Bulls in Toronto.... a big win to open the season against OKC in Oklahoma...a big win against Portland in Toronto..and a huge win against the top ranked Pacers in Indianapolis..... DeMar DeRozan has picked right back up where he left off.... scoring at right around 25 points a game, and Andrea Bargnani continues to pour in points for the Raptors being the Robin to DeRozan's Batman.. where the Raptors have really improved is their depth... the acquistion of Anthony Randolph and Josh Selby have made the Raptors far more athletic... Selby should get some sixth man of the year votes.... he has really changed the Raptors bench mob.... he is an explosive scorer off the bench, capable of giving anyone points.....

The Raptors made a huge trade to acquire DJ Augustine to come in and take over the point guard duties while also bringing in David Lee to solidify the front line rotation.... with these additions the Raptors should continue to play well and hope to lock up a top 4 playoff spot this year... more to come soon..

The Bulls are starting to get things figured out after the regressions of Rip and Boozer. A solid win over the defending champs is the highlight of the season so far, but we're still trailing the Pacers for the division lead. Mike Bibby has been solid for us off the bench, including a 29 point 6 assist 5 steal effort in a loss to the Pacers. Ronnie Brewer has also played well in a platoon with Rip.

Piston fans are excited about the signing of Jose Calderon formally of Toronto. "We really think he can be a key part of our backcourt for the rest of this season. When we saw he was available we sent over an offer right away and flew him out to Detroit the same night." To make room for Calderon the Pistons let go little used veteran point guard Andre Miller.

Calderon will play in the next game or two since Austin Daye is injured but once he returns it is unclear who will move to the reserve list. Early speculation is that Josh McRoberts wont dress when the team is back at full strength.

Piston fans are excited about the signing of Jose Calderon formally of Toronto. "We really think he can be a key part of our backcourt for the rest of this season. When we saw he was available we sent over an offer right away and flew him out to Detroit the same night." To make room for Calderon the Pistons let go little used veteran point guard Andre Miller.

Calderon will play in the next game or two since Austin Daye is injured but once he returns it is unclear who will move to the reserve list. Early speculation is that Josh McRoberts wont dress when the team is back at full strength.

Click to expand...

Calderon wasnt in Toronto.. he got traded to Charlotte for David Lee and DJ Augustin.....

Piston fans are excited about the signing of Jose Calderon formally of Toronto. "We really think he can be a key part of our backcourt for the rest of this season. When we saw he was available we sent over an offer right away and flew him out to Detroit the same night." To make room for Calderon the Pistons let go little used veteran point guard Andre Miller.

Calderon will play in the next game or two since Austin Daye is injured but once he returns it is unclear who will move to the reserve list. Early speculation is that Josh McRoberts wont dress when the team is back at full strength.

Charlotte has had a much improved season so far compared to last year and have found themselves in the midst of a playoff race. The Bobcats have been without there GM for most of the season as he has been away for personal reasons. The Bobcats sit at 23-16 and have been getting solid performances from everyone including 1st pick in last years draft Garry Randle. Randle is not the only new Bobcat this season that got the attention of the league when Greg Oden turned down Portland to head to Charlotte and he is having a very solid year with only some minor injuries that has only sidelined Greg for 4 games this season.

One of the goals this season for the Charlotte front office was to resign Dorell Wright but with David Lee's contract it made it tough to give Dorell the money he deserved so GM Carder sent Lee and DJ Augustin to Toronto for Jose Calderon's contract, Bill Walker and James Johnson. Once the trade was completed Charlotte immediately dumped Calderon opening up the cap space to resign Dorell Wright and since the extension Wright is averaging 29.5 ppg the last 4 games.

Charlotte still has a long way to go to become a real contender but they have made a huge turnaround from last season.